


you told me this is right where it begins

by atlantisairlock



Series: quiet nights poured over ice & tanqueray: shoot x halsey [11]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Afterlife, Canon Compliant, Character Turned Into a Ghost, F/F, Happy Ending, POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-07-11 20:16:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7068433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atlantisairlock/pseuds/atlantisairlock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twenty-four hours after Root is pronounced dead, she comes back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you told me this is right where it begins

Twenty-four hours after Root is pronounced dead, she comes back two ways. 

One. Robot Overlord steals her voice and speaks to all of you through the payphone for the very first time.

Two. You jerk awake from a nightmare, shaking in a cold sweat, to find her sitting on your bed and watching you.

You have a strong constitution, all right - that's why you don't let out an unholy shriek of terror and fall back in a dead faint. You just go still and look at her. She looks back, doesn't say a word, just - stares through you with sad, sad eyes. 

"Root?" You whisper, unable to believe what you're seeing. 

In response, she gets up and comes to your side, kneels and rests her hand on yours. Or at least she tries, because it just passes through you, and you feel the strangest sliver of ice through your flesh and blood. 

She's not really here. She's here, but - not - 

And that's how you discover that hey, ghosts exist, they're a thing, it's cool.

Honestly? After the whole AI war debacle, nothing could possibly surprise you any longer. If anything, you're glad and gratified that she's here with you, somehow or another. 

She touches your face, then glances at your pillow. The message is clear -  _go to sleep._

"Don't leave me," you blurt out. "Don't go."

Root shakes her head, and the tension coiled in your chest eases. 

You drop off without another word. 

 

 

She can't speak, apparently. It's a weird and admittedly unwelcome change that she isn't teasing and flirting any more. 

The Machine talking at all of you just doesn't have the same ring to it. 

But she's there, always hovering over your shoulder, and you feel her even when you can't see her.

It's enough.

 

 

"She was lonely," John tells you, in one of those rare moments when you can actually catch a breather before everything really goes to shit. "She shouldn't have died alone."

Beside you, Root cracks a smile and leans into you. You feel strangely comforted. 

She's not alone.

She still has you. 

And you still have her.

 

 

None of them can see her. Either she's a figment of your imagination or she's choosing to appear only to you. You like to believe it's the latter - you've had enough of doubting your reality for the rest of your life. 

It's Bear that eventually reassures your doubt, when you come home from a long day and you see Root sitting on your couch. He's nestled comfortably with his head in her lap, whining contentedly. She looks up at you when you come in through the door, and her face lights up.

You relax. 

You're home. 

 

 

You fall into the habit of talking to her, even though she can't respond, because you know she's listening. Not in front of the team, of course, but when you're on your own, it's comforting. 

She never really leaves. You get the feeling she's preparing you for what's coming next. 

 

 

The final battle is long and bloody and she lends you her strength and her power and her determination. But she can still only do so much. 

You go out in a blaze of guns and glory, and honestly, you're okay with that. 

It's finally over.

Maybe now you'll get to be with her.

As the screams fade out around you, you'll swear she feels a little more solid now, cradling your head in her hands and pressing a kiss to your lips.

Death could never have parted the both of you. And now your fight is over, you're just ready to be with her again, for real.

You can hear her voice - her proper voice - for the first time in a long time, soft and gentle. _Maybe someday?_

You smile and close your eyes for the last time.  _Today._


End file.
